Dionysus Reborn
by Dragonchad
Summary: Dionysus was worshipped as a God, and as a wizard, his powers were close to that level. But despite being Lord of Wine, Grapevines, Madness, and Religious Ecstasy, he also had dominion over Rebirth and Reincarnation
1. chapter 1

It was in a strange trance that Albus Dumbledore delivered a baby boy to his nearest blood relative. He could hardly think. He was smiling brightly.

"Albus." a woman said seriously. "We can't leave him here. They're the worst sort of Muggles imaginable!" she cried.

"They are his family. All he has left." Dumbledore replied distractedly.

The woman's lips thinned, but she didn't argue any longer.

"Goodbye 'Arry." a tall man with a shaggy beard and hair moaned sadly.

"Nonsense Hagrid. We will see young Harry again." Albus said cheerfully.

Hagrid continued to cry as he nodded his understanding to the older man.

 _Line Break_

Harry Potter grew up in a strange home. He lived with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. That was fairly normal, but they weren't. As lomg as he could remember, his Aunt Petunia drank wine with startling regularity, his Uncle Vernon ate like a starving man and grew frighteningly huge, and his cousin Dudley ate much the same.

His Uncle had a job at a drill company named Grunnings, where he supposedly was well respected. He worked a lot, and he seemed to enjoy his work, as it was the only thing that stopped him from eating constantly.

Whatever the mans' salary, by the time Harry was old enough to realize his families' strangeness, he had to help support them in their indulgencies.

Harry discovered he was adept at growing plants, and his Aunt helped him create a Vineyard, which he grew high quality grapes. His Aunt had taught him to create Wine, which they sold to help pay for the remarkable amount of food they went through, while Petunia drank a good portion of their product.

This was the life that Harry knew. Though his Aunt was constantly slurring her words and explaining strange things that made absolutely no sense to anyone but her, and his Uncle ate and worked so much that it was amazing to think of him as a person, he was happy. His cousin was a bit of a bully, usually preventing Harry from eating his food, but he loved them.

Besides, Harry wasn't the type to eat a lot, and though he tried to develop an interest in his Uncle's work, he didn't find it as fascinating as Vernon did. His Aunt was the one he was closest with, because he loved tending the grapevines, and his Aunt loved the wine he made.

He had drank some of his results, and it didn't seem to do anything to him except taste quite good to him, nothing like his Aunt's pleasant haze.

This was how his days passed. Tending his grapevines, making wine, attending school. A routine of quiet contentment that he followed daily.

Until one week before his eleventh birthday.

 _Line Break_

It was as normal a day as any other. It was summer, so all he had to do was tend to the vineyard. After checking the soil for weeds and ensuring it was moist, he cleaned up and helped his Aunt make breakfast.

Or rather, she sat in the kitchen while he cooked.

After breakfast was prepared, a large meal with eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast, biscuits, and french toast, Harry and Petunia delivered the plates to the dining room.

A metallic click was heard, and Harry spoke up. "I'll get it." he volunteered.

He had already tucked away his food, a smaller affair, and hopped up to go get the mail.

He flipped through the letters carefully, reading the sending addresses.

"We've got some bills, and a notice from Grunnings." Harry mused aloud, handing the relevant envelope to Vernon as he saw it. "Oh, and something for me?" he said with some surprise.

Harry didn't recieve letters, and neither did Dudley, seeing as the postal service was mostly used for bills and magazines.

His Aunt cheered weakly, smiling broadly with a somewhat clear expression. "See?" she said with a mild slur, "I told you you'd get it."

Harry frowned. "I had thought you were making it up." he said quietly.

"What?" she asked indignantly, though her drunken stupor was already tinging her voice. "I couldn't make that up!" she declared.

Harry sat down at the table, staring down at the unopened letter in his hands. He had liked the idea of his Aunt being an imaginative drunk, and instead, she was the type to talk about the past.

That meant that his parents really had been murdered. That he was different from his family. That he was special.

"Why can't I just be Harry?" he cried.

Petunia pulled herself together and hugged him close, smiling to reassure him. "You are just Harry. But this is who you are too."

He held her back as his tears soaked into her blouse. "I don't want to leave my vines. My home. My family." he whispered into her shoulder.

"You aren't leaving us." she stated firmly. "It's just school. We can handle it while you go."

Harry sniffled again. "Okay."

 _Line Break_

Harry returned an acceptance letter and asked for help getting to Diagon Alley, which resulted in the visitor he recieved the next day.

He answered the door to find a stern faced older woman in black.

"Hello?" he asked. "Are those robes?"

"Mister Potter, I presume?" she asked. When he nodded, she continued. "I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts."

"Oh. Cool." Harry said weakly. "I'll just get my shoes on, and then we can go."

As he slipped on some sneakers, he continued talking. "How much money do I need to bring for my school supplies?"

"You have a vault at Gringotts, and I've been asked to deliver the key to you. It should well cover anything you want to buy."

"Woah, really?" he asked, awed.

McGonagall nodded with a slight smile.

"I'm ready." he informed her.

She nodded and Harry called a farewell to his relatives as they left.

 _Line Break_

Shopping was an interesting affair. Harry finally saw some of the things his Aunt had always talked about, and knew they were true.

It was, dare he say it, magical.

He was so overwhelmed with the sights and sounds that he didn't process very much until he found himself in front of an old dusty shop. The sign above the door named it Ollivander's.

"You go in alone, Mr. Potter. Garrick likes to make these into private affairs." McGonagall informed him. "I'll just be waiting out here."

Harry nodded and stepped through the old wooden door.

The shop was dimly lit, and old. He didn't see anyone, but there was a huge area behind the front counter that most likely contained a large number of wands.

"Mr. Potter." A voice called. It sounded like it was breathing in his ear, and he shuddered as he whipped around. He saw an old man who seemed to blend well with the old wood of the shop. "I wondered when I might see you in my shop."

Harry calmed down as the man continued to talk.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Your father's, Mahogany, 11 inches, pliable. Your mother's, Willow, 10 and a quarter, swishy."

Harry gave a small grin. He loved hearing about his parents.

"Now, let's see what we can find for you." Ollivander said. Harry was handed a wand. "Mahogany, Dragon Heartstring."

It barely touched his hand before it was snatched back, the sound of breaking porcelain in the back.

"Willow, Unicorn Hair."

The situation repeated itself, wand after wand being thrown away and the shop becoming more and more cluttered with shattered flower pots, broken glass, icicles in the ground, grapes embedded in shelves, and the like.

"I wonder." Ollivander whispered, before handing him another wand.

This one did nothing at all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but I don't have a wand in my shop that I can claim would choose you." Ollivander said with an ecstatic grin.

"Then why are you smiling?" Harry asked.

"Mister Potter, my life's work has been dedicated to making wands using only Unicorn hair, Dragon Heartstring, and Phoenix feathers. You have proven that those three wand cores are not the only premium cores. My father used to build wands based off of people bringing in animal parts that were important to them, and I was determined to prove that kneazle hair couldn't compare to a stronger magical creature."

Harry was even more confused. "Doesn't that mean you were wrong?" he asked.

Ollivander's grin grew even wider. "Precisely. I have a few more wands in the back I'd like to try, Mr. Potter. They are not the same as before, but rather, ideas I was toying with."

Ollivander stepped through to the back of his shop and returned with an old trunk.

"Elder and Thunderbird feather." he whispered.

The wand gouged a scar into the counter. Ollivander took it and replaced it with another.

"Ivy and Horned Serpent" he said.

The wand grew warm in his hand, but nothing else happened.

"Interesting. Set that one down, and take this one." Ollivander said.

Harry did so.

"Ivy and Thestral hair."

Harry took it and it glowed lightly, a pleasant white light filling the room.

"Alas, a dilemma." Ollivander said with a smile. "Both of these wands are compatible, and there is a law against multiple wands without a permit."

"What should I do, sir?" Harry asked.

Ollivander shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know, Mr. Potter. But here." Ollivander handed him a fabric brace. "A wand holster. It is mokeskin, so no one can see it besides you. It can't be taken from you and you can't be disarmed if your wand is inside."

"Uh, thanks?" Harry said. He looked at it for a few seconds before he noticed. It had two slots. He figured Ollivander was exactly the right kind of person for him to be purposefully obtuse.

"Look, a flying squirrel!" he cried, pointing behind the old wand maker.

The man turned dutifully with a smile as Harry slipped the two wands into the holster. Harry slapped the holster against his forearm and watched it stick.

When Ollivander turned back around, a good five minutes later, Harry was set.

"How much, sir?" Harry asked with a smile.

"20 galleons." Ollivander replied.

Harry paid and left, Ollivander wishing him luck as he did.


	2. chapter 2

It was both excitement and trepidation that met Harry at Kings' Cross. He sat in a empty car and shelved his trunk above the seats.

He sat back and looked at his wrist, rubbing his finger gently across his wands. He had done some research, and his Horned Serpent wand was known to be able to detect Parseltongue, while Thestral Hair was known to be ridiculously fickle in ownership.

Parseltongue was supposed to be a trait of dark wizards, he had read. It was curious indeed, because Harry knew that he was a Parselmouth. He used to tell the snakes in his vineyard not to ruin his grapevines, and they would agree with him.

He could hardly tell he wasn't speaking English, so having a wand that would differentiate for him was somewhat of a relief, given the stigma associated with speakers of snakes.

It was in his musings that the compartment door slid open. He turned to find a blonde girl, and a redhead.

"Oh!" the blonde squeaked. "We're sorry, we thought this car was empty."

"It's okay, you can sit here if you'd like. I could use the company." Harry assured the girl.

"Come on, who knows how quickly the other compartments will fill." the redhead said, tugging the blonde into an adjacent seat to Harry.

"It's nice to meet you." Harry said kindly, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." he introduced himself as he extended his hand.

"Shut up!" the redhead said with awe, "No way!"

Harry adopted a face of absolute confusion. "Er, sorry?" he said.

"I thought he was just made up." the blonde said.

"Huh. I don't think I've ever been accused of being fictional before." he said with humor.

The blonde paled and ducked behind her friend. "Sorry!" she cried.

"It's alright." Harry said. "But might I know who you two are?" he asked politely.

The redhead spoke first. "I'm Susan Bones. Nice to meet you." she said, finally taking his hand.

"And I'm Hannah. Abbot." the blonde said shyly. Harry shook her hand too.

"I'm happy to meet you. I suppose I'll have to figure out how to break the news to the others that I'm an actual person." he said with a smile.

They laughed sheepishly.

"It's just, there are so many books about you. Fairy tales about your childhood. They say you had a pet dragon that you rode everywhere, and lived in a gold manor in the clouds." Susan explained.

"I hope I don't have to tell you that isn't true." Harry said.

"Then where did you live?" Hannah asked. She was poking out from Susan's shoulder.

"I grew up with my Aunt and Uncle on my mom's side, they're muggles." he said.

"No way, really?" Susan asked incredulously.

Harry nodded.

"So you didn't have much information about magic." she said thoughtfully. "Can you remember what kind of accidental magic you performed?"

"Accidental Magic?" Harry asked.

Hannah replied, "Yeah, things that happened when you were scared, or angry?"

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I turned my teacher's wig blue once in Primary school."

Susan nodded. "Color changing is a common one."

"I grew my hair back overnight when they cut it in school." Harry continued.

Hannah gasped, but Harry continued.

"I remember I appeared on a roof when I was being chased."

"Wow, Apparition is a difficult magic. You have to be pretty strong to have done it as a kid." Susan said.

"Growing your hair is a sign of a metamorphmagus!" Hannah shouted.

"What is a metamorphmagus?" Harry asked curiously.

"It means you can change your body at will. If you wanted long hair, you could just make it longer with a thought. If you wanted to be blond, or have a bigger nose, or anything. It's really rare." Susan explained.

"Woah." Harry said.

That's when the compartment door slammed open and a blond with slicked back hair stepped in.

"Have any of you seen Harry Potter?" he said forcefully.

Harry noticed the blond had two goons that were standing behind him, trying to look intimidating.

"Yeah, I think he went to the back of the train. Said something about making friends with the older students." Harry said.

The blond smiled excitedly. "Really? Thanks, I'll go look." he said, closing the door and walking quickly away.

Susan and Hannah were staring at him now. He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "He seemed like a prat." he said sheepishly.

"He is." Susan said. "But when he finds out that you're Harry Potter, he'll be mad."

Harry gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Let's hope he doesn't find out for a while then, eh?"

Hannah giggled. "You aren't what I expected, Harry Potter." she said.

"I should hope not. I'd like to meet a dragon before I had one as a pet." he said with a smile.

The three laughed and Harry felt his heart soar. Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad.


	3. chapter 3

The one downside to making friends with the names Abbot and Bones, is that they were the first ones to be sorted. Hannah was clearly a shy girl, with little confidence. He gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder as she was called by the Transfiguration Professor.

Susan went next, but she was much more confident. Both of his friends went to Hufflepuff.

Now Harry felt a moment of consideration. What house did he want to go in? With the prejudice towards snakes, Harry assumed Slutherin would mean people considered him, the 'Boy-Who-Lived', evil.

That wouldn't be conducive to a learning environment.

Hufflepuff, where his two friends just went, seemed a good choice. He cared for friends and family, and he prized hard work.

Ravenclaw wouldn't fit him as much. He was intelligent, if he said so himself, and he could be witty, but he didn't prize brains above all else.

Gryffindor fit as well. Chivalry was something he believed in, and Courage was important.

He watched as Draco Malfoy went to Slytherin, and he reaffirmed that he didn't want to go there.

"Harry Potter." the teacher called.

The Hall silenced. You could have heard the slightest noise, and it made his steady footsteps echo acrissthe room.

Whispers were heard.

"THE Harry Potter?"

"The Boy-Who-Lived?"

"He's real?"

"Where's his diamond sword?"

Harry started to feel concerned about the contents of the books about him.

"Do you think he takes applications for his harem now, or should we wait?"

Harry sat on the stool as McGonagall out the hat on his head, covering his eyes with the brim.

"Oh my. Where to put you? Not a bad mind, loyal and hardworking. Nice and Chivalrous as well. Cunning and ambitious, but not nearly so much as the others. You'd do well in Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff."

"Just not Slytherin, that guy looked annoying." Harry thought.

"Hmm. Difficult, very difficult. Any preferences beyond 'Not Slytherin'?"

Harry tried to think about it, but he ended up just further leaning where he had already felt. "My friends are in Hufflepuff." he thought.

"Yes, that is one of the biggest reasons people turn to it. Better be HUFFLEPUFF!"

Applause met him as the hat lifted from his head, and he went to sit with Susan and Hannah with a smile.

 _Line Break_

"Hufflepuff" the Prefect, Cedric Diggory, explained, "Is the friendliest house. Our house is one of the only ones where House division hasn't expanded to the point that we refuse to make friends outside of it, like Slytherin. As such, our common room is open to visitors that you trust, and the only thing keeping our common room secured is secrecy."

Cedric showed them to a stack of barrels, and pointed at one woith his wand.

"The entrance opens to you tapping this barrel to the syllables of Helga Hufflepuff. This part of the entrance is under a ward to stop visitors from knowing it, so you can tap it even while your friends are right next to you." Cedric explained, and then demonstrated.

The barrels shifted away, revealing the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.

It was an interesting place. It was a room with a low ceiling, decorated in yellow and black. The tables were a merry honey color, and so were the doors to what Harry assumed were the dorms.

There were plants everywhere, which Harry assumed was partly due to the Herbology Professor being the Head of House. The yellow and black made the room look like the sun was out, and the room somehow mimicked the feeling as well.

The small crowd of first years stepped further into the room, and Harry smiled as ivy tickled his head.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff." Cedric said brightly.

 _Line Break_

Magic was amazing, Harry decided. His first transfiguration class was a delight, as McGonagall turned out to be able to turn into a cat. How could Transfiguration be anything but the epitome of magic when advanced users could turn into animals at will?

At least, that was what he thought until Hannah fixed him with a truly sad look.

"Metamorphmagi can't become animagi." she informed him with a sad smile.

Harry pouted beautifully, but his demeanor wasn't the type that would allow him to be down for long. He discovered that a fellow Hufflepuff named Nymphadora Tonks was also a metamorphmagus, and he cornered her in the common room.

"Can you teach me how to be a metamorphmagus?" he asked excitedly.

She sighed goodnaturedly as her hair shifted colors. "It's not something that can be taught, it's a blood trait."

"No, I know that." he replied, "I think I may be one and I want to figure out for sure."

"Oh!" Tonks gasped. "Really?"

Harry nodded. "I grew my hair out once when I didn't want a haircut overnight. Come to think of it, I haven't had a haircut since."

Tonks nodded thoughtfully. "No one has ever seen a Potter go to a barber, now that I think about it." she mused. "Maybe it's just more passive than Black Metamorphmagi."

"Black? Is there a hierarchy or something?" he asked

Tonks laughed and shook her head. "No, I meant that I'm most likely a metamorphmagus from my mother's family, the House of Black."

"Oh." Harry said. "That makes sense."

"I've never known Potter's to have metamorphs in their line, despite their other gifts."

"Gifts?" Harry asked.

Tonks laughed it away. "Don't mind me. Just thinking aloud. I can't really teach you how to be a metamorphmagus. I just always have been able to change how I felt like, even when I was a baby. I'd recommend trying to change on your own if you think you can."

Then she bid a goodbye and left while Harry was still thinking about his possible talents.

"Passive metamorphmagus, huh?" he thought. "I don't even know how much a regular one can change, never mind a passive one."

He shrugged away his thoughts and joined his friends in sitting on a couch near a hearth. Despite how easily he made friends with Hannah and Susan, the instant rapport hadn't made itself known between him and his roommates yet.

Justin Finch-Fletchley and Zachariah Smith were cordial at best, though Justin was friendlier overall.

Harry smiled at the two girls he spent his time with, and dropped into the couch in relief.

"How are we doing today?" he asked with a grin.

"Proving ourselves to be the House of Hard Work, unlike a certain celebrity I may name." Susan said teasingly.

"Oh?" Harry asked challengingly, "then what's this?" he asked with a wave of some parchment.

She held off for a few seconds while he waved the parchment around her head with voiced sound effects before she snatched it out of his hands. "You finished the essay for McGonagall already?" Susan asked with a raised brow.

"Mhmm." Harry agreed. He had his hands behind his head and he kicked his feet up on the yellowed coffee table.

Susan tossed the parchment in his face and Hannah jabbed the side of his knee with her quill, making him jerk his legs off the table and pull his arms out to take the paper.

"Don't put your legs on the table." Hannah said crossly, but her twitching cheeks let him now she was supressing a smile.

Harry stowed his essay and propped his legs back up with a cocky grin. "Relax, Hannah. The table has lasted this long, and I doubt I'm the first person to kick their feet up."

Hannah tried to scowl at him, but ended up laughing at him instead. Susan coughed to stifle her own giggle, and Harry smiled.

 _Line Break_

Charms was an interesting class, as Flitwick was a truly amazing Professor. When their first class started with him trying to learn their names, Flitwick attempted to diffuse the gawking by comically falling off of his perch of stacked books.

He stood on stacked books because he was quite short, almost the same height as the first years, and he needed to be able to oversee the class in case something happened.

Harry knew this because one of the first charms they learned had catastrophic results. The class was to learn the hovering charm, as it was something that a lot of students used as accidental magic as a child, and therefore easy to learn.

While many students had no results, one boy that Harry didn't know, a Ravenclaw, waved his wand half heartedly and the feather caught fire. It exploded in a torrent of flame, but Flitwick managed to put it out with a single wave of his wand, and a gentle admonishment to focus on making the feather levitate.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Harry called with a wave, and the feather turned over and floated for half a second.

Flitwick seemed to catch this minute movement, and he congratulated Harry, awarding points to Hufflepuff.

The man was a great teacher, Harry thought.

 _Line Break_

Harry didn't like the Defense Professor. While McGonagall was an excellent Transfiguration user, making her an excellent teacher through knowledge of the mistakes that could help her to explain to students what was going wrong in their spellcasting, and Flitwick was an exemplary teacher that kept constant watch and helped his students correct mistakes in pronunciation and wand movements, Quirrel was much different.

Quirrel seemed to stutter through chapters of books, displaying limited knowledge of the material as well as proper teaching methods. He wasn't even useful for help reading the text, due to his constant stutter. It was actually more difficult to try to absorb the information when he spoke.

It was a shame, because he felt that he might really enjoy the class if the teacher was any good, and he felt disappointed that one of his classes was poor.

At least, before his first Potions class.

The students piled in and sat among the rows of cauldrons, two students to each. Hannah and Susan sat together, while Harry sat with a Ravenclaw, Terry Boot.

They stowed their bags under the table and looked around the stone classroom. Potion ingredients littered the walls and shelves, where some texts were kept as well.

The door slammed shut and a tall man with a hooked nose and greasy black hair swept into the room, his robes billowing behind him from the pace of his stride.

"There will be no foolish wand waving here." the man said with a scowl. "Some of you would hardly believe this is magic."

The man continued an impressive, and most likely memorised, speech, until his eyes met Harry's.

In less than a second, his scowl grew vicious and the veins around his eyes bulged. "Mr. Potter." he said coldly. "What would I get if I added powdered asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir." Harry replied respectfully.

"Tut tut. Where would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?" he asked.

"I don't know sir." he repeated.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" he asked.

This one Harry did know, and he answered. "They are the same plant, sir, also known as aconite." he replied.

"Well it seems you aren't a total failure, Potter." Snape said with a smirk. "For your information, Asphodel and Wormwood would make a base for Draught of the Living Dead, and a Bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat."

He looked around at the first years, before snapping. "Well? Why aren't you writing this down?"

He went on to explain they were to make a potion to cure boils, but Harry was distracted. Because when he saw the Professor's eyes, they were glittering in a way he somehow intimately recognised.

Madness.


	4. chapter 4

Finally, the first week of Hogwarts was over, and Harry collapsed in the common room couch with a sigh of relief. Next to him, Hannah and Susan sighed at him together.

"Harry, you are so dramatic. It's been a week." Hannah chided.

"You say that when one of your Professors hates you." Harry complained. "Snape didn't get ever get off my case."

"Are you sure you don't know why he acts like that?" Susan asked. "It's unprofessional."

Harry sighed and reclined his head back to look at the merry yellow ceiling. "Not that I can think of. Maybe he has something against black hair? Except he's fine with other people. Maybe he just has some strange reason to hate me?"

Susan looked to be trying to puzzle it out, and Hannah looked like she wanted to offer sympathy. Harry smiled at them.

"You guys are great." he whispered.

They smiled, but pretended not to hear him.

 _Line Break_

As Harry, Hannah, and Susan walked to Charms, they passed by the Gryffindor class. They heard a redhead complaining, though the words were hard to make out.

"She's... know-it-all... even have any friends." Harry caught him say. The redhead's subject of discussion became apparent when a girl with curly brown hair barged past them, tears gathering in her eyes.

"That was horrible." Hannah whispered.

"Yes. It was." Harry said with a frown. "I'm gonna make sure she's alright. Tell Professor for me?" he asked.

Susan nodded, and Harry turned to follow the upset girl.

He ran through the halls until he found her. She was hiding in a corner near a staircase, and Harry caught his breath for a second before approaching her.

"Hey." he whispered.

The girl flinched, and made to get away. She was having trouble catching her breath though, so she didn't manage to get anywhere.

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

The girl turned to him. Tears ran tracks down her cheeks, and she sniffled. "What do you care?" she asked bitterly.

Harry slid down the wall until he was sitting next to her. "Well, I like to think I am nice enough to help someone who's upset."

She didn't respond, and the silence dragged on.

Until he broke it. "What that guy said. It wasn't right." Harry said. "And I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. He suddenly gasped. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Harry Potter. Though I should let you know I left my pet dragon and legion of Griffins at home." he said jokingly.

The bushy haired girl chuckled and held out her hand. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."

Harry took her hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you Hermione. Let's be friends."

Her smile was warm, and Harry was happy to make another friend.

 _Line Break_

Flitwick was understanding, and even rewarded points when he returned to class. Harry was happy that he didn't completely miss class, and he managed to convince Hermione to go to her next class as well.

After Charms, their last class of the day, they headed back to the common room, but Harry took Hannah and Susan on a small detour. They swang past the Transfiguration corridor, and Harry pulled Hermione away from the back of the Gryffindor group.

It was a surprise that no one noticed her disappear, though he supposed that she had been walking in the back of the group.

Hermione seemed disoriented as she suddenly found herself walking with Harry and two girls she didn't know in the opposite direction.

"Uh. Where are we going?" Hermiome asked.

"Common Room." Harry said unhelpfully.

"My common room is the other way." she felt she needed to say.

"That's interesting, but ours is this way." Susan said with a smile.

"Shouldn't I head to mine?" Hermiome asked.

"No." Hannah replied with a grin.

This exchange continued until they were in front of the Hufflepuff entrance. Harry tapped the barrel while Hermione's eyes unfocused, and the barrels shifted, revealing an earthen passage.

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff common room." Harry said with a bow.

Hermione stepped through the dirt tunnel before it led back up to a room. Harry, Hannah, and Susan watched her walk through, following just behind.

"Wow." she breathed as she entered. "It's so nice." she said.

Harry and his two friends dragged Hermione over to their couch, and the quartet sat.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked after absorbing her surroundings. "Isn't it against the rules?"

Hannah shook her head. "Hufflepuff allows visitors until curfew, although you shouldn't be here that late or you'll never make it to the common room."

"We just thought you could stay here until the feast." Harry said. "We can do homework or whatever."

Hermione looked to be at a loss for words. "Harry." she said. "Thank you."

"No problem. And Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Happy Halloween."

 _Line Break_

A few hours later, the four first years walked to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Hermione looked uncertain as she took a step towards the Gryffindor table, and Hannah rested a hand on her shoulder.

"You can sit with us if you want." she said softly.

Hermione nodded, relief evident.

The four of them sat at the Hufflepuff table and enjoyed the food. Harry started talking about some of the books that had been written about him.

"I still don't know what a Grindylow is, but I can assure you that they don't hold me up whenever I enter a lake so that I appear to be walking on top of the water, and I don't believe I own a castle twice the size of Hogwarts with a dungeon full of Veela. I don't even have a clear idea of what Veela are, since most people won't explain it to me. They say I'm too young."

Hermione, being as well read as she was, did have an idea of what Veela were, and described them. "They are a magical race that look human, but they have the ability to turn into bird-like creatures when angry, and they can summon fire at will. They have an effect known as Allure that makes wizards into drooling idiots."

"Why would I have a dungeon of them? And are they conscious? I wouldn't want to imprison people." Harry asked.

"They are supposed to be very beautiful, and the Allure can make them seem prettier. I think they are intelligent, so it's probably better not to fill a dungeon with them." Susan said. "Besides, those fireballs are super dangerous."

Harry nodded. "This whole book thing is kinda freaking me out. How many people think that they are real?"

A girl sitting a small ways down gasped. "They aren't real?"

Harry turned incredulously. She was at least a fourth year. "Of course not! I haven't even heard of half of my 'accomplishments', never mind having done them."

The girl seemed struck, as if someone had just informed her that she was in a coma and her life had been a dream.

Harry groaned and took another bite off his plate.

"If you want, you could ask the author to put a disclaimer that says they aren't true on his books." Susan told him, patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"It won't matter. The kids who grew up reading the books aren't going to see it on new printings." Harry sighed.

"Well, at least your fan club hasn't approached you yet."

"MY WHAT?" Harry yelled.

The doors to the Great Hall slammed open as Professor Quirrel sprinted into the room. "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON!" he screamed. "Thought you ought to know." he whimpered faintly before collapsing on the ground.

Harry sat, stunned, as the Hall erupted into chaos. Dumbledore tried to unleash a loud blast to startle everyone back into their thoughts, but the panic overtook them.

"BACK TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS!" Dumbledore bellowed, still trying to calm the students.

They bolted like frightened sheep, tearing through the Great Hall towards the largest exit.

The main doors that Quirrel had just collapsed in front of.

A few hundred children poured through the doors, each one scrambling blindly towards their common rooms.

Poor Quirrel was trampled, and the Hall was quickly emptied of almost all of the students.

Only Harry and his friends remained, as well as a few older students. Dumbledore stared in shock as Quirrel coughed once and fell still, and the collective group of students and teachers watched as a black mist escaped from Quirrel's turban and flew away rapidly.

It screamed as it left.


	5. chapter 5

As fall turned to winter and the castle grew chillier, Harry spent more time with his friends. Hermione turned out to be a serious academic, who enjoyed learning beyond almost any other activity.

It actually caused a small situation, because she seemed like she wanted to check over their work and make corrections. Hannah and Susan were the type to discuss work, rather than check it over with each other, and Harry preferred to let his work stand by his merit, rather than habe someome else edit it.

The situation was resolved when Harry pulled her aside and informed her that she would still be their friend, even if she didn't do their homework for them.

She seemed to be so surprised, perhaps not realizing that she was trying to 'pay' for their friendship, that she apologized.

Harry waved her off with a smile.

"We want to hang out with you because you are our friend, not because of how talented or intelligent you are."

She teared up, and hugged him tight. "Thank you, Harry." she said.

Then, after she had composed herself, they joined Hannah and Susan again, though Hermione didn't try to nag them about helping. Hannah and Susan calmed, and included her in their academic conversation.

Before they knew it, it was the start of the Yule time Holidays. Susan and Hannah were going to spend Christmas at their families', as was Hermione.

Harry waved them off with a smile and a Merry Christmas, even though he would be left without them for the first time since they met.

It was a sobering thought that he refused to acknowledge until they were on the Express.

 _Line Break_

When he woke up next, he was alone.

As he walked through the hall towards the common room, he noticed only the sounds of his own footsteps.

He opened the door and entered the common room.

Somehow, the sunny disposition of the room didn't feel as warm as it usually did.

He sat in his usual spot, the left end of the couch in front of the fire. The couch felt cold now, bereft of the body heat that warmed the cushions usually.

Harry sighed and leaned back.

"It's so quiet now." he muttered.

Whenever he sat in the common room before, there was always the buzz of conversation and the shifting of students in their seats. Occasionally, there was the buzz of a silencing spell, or the laughter from an upper year.

Without those sounds, it seemed empty and lifeless.

A creak of wood had him jerking his eyes open as he whipped around. The door to the girls' dorms opened, and Tonks stepped out, yawning and wiping at her eyes.

She tripped and knocked over a table, spilling some forgotten papers onto the ground.

"Shit." she groaned, and Harry suppressed a smile.

"Want some help?" he called.

She jerked around, catching her foot in a chair that had been in front of the table and collapsing in a heap.

Harry got up and walked over to the clumsy girl, offering his hand.

She took it, and Harry helped pull her to her feet.

"You're a strong one, huh?" she remarked once she was planted upright.

"It's just pulling weeds and the like." he said, brushing aside the compliment.

"Oh?" she asked. "Do you garden?"

Harry laughed. "More of a vineyard. I grow grapes."

"Vineyard? Like wine?" Tonks asked with surprise.

Harry blushed and ran his hand through his hair. "Er."

"That's so cool! How good is it?" she asked ecstatically, and Harry relaxed.

"Er, it's pretty good I guess. I haven't tried any other wine."

"Can I try some?" Tonks asked, before she realized she was talking to an eleven year old. "Er. If that's okay with your aunt?"

Harry shook his head. "They're my grapes. It's my wine. She handles selling it. I can probably get some for you if you want." He hesitated. "Isn't there something against me making or drinking wine?" he asked.

Tonks laughed. "No, no. Muggle alcohol can't effect magicals. They'll teach you to conjure wine next year even, since it's harmless to you guys."

Harry nodded his understanding. "That explains why I haven't been drunk." he said.

Tonks leaned in to whisper conspiratorally. "If you put some magic in it though, it'll do its job."

Harry blinked at her.

"I only say so because magical wine made personally by Harry Potter would make you rich. Well, richer."

"I'll keep it in mind Tonks, but I don't think I'll get you some magical wine just yet." he said with a laugh.

She waved it off. "I was just curious about the taste." she said honestly.

Harry nodded. "I can get Aunt Petunia to deliver it to me." he said. "I'll call it a Christmas Present for you." he promised.

"Speaking of Christmas, where's your friends?" Tonks asked. "Not early birds?"

Harry shook his head. "They went home for Christmas."

Tonks nodded slowly. "Even Granger?" she asked.

Harry nodded.

Tonks grabbed him and pulled him along with her towards the exit. "Well then you're with me." she said determinedly.

Harry lost his footing as he was dragged by the older girl. "Tonks!" he cried. "Let me go! Where are we going?"

She pulled him out of the common room and through the exit passage, the barrels shifting away as they left. Harry finally managed to free his arm, but he walked with her anyway.

He followed her just down the hall, where she stopped in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit. She turned to make sure he was watching and reached up, tickling the pear on the painting. It turned into a door handle, and she pulled the painting that was now a door, open.

"These are the kitchens." she said. "I don't like going up to the Great Hall to eat on holiday, so I just come in here."

"Why are they so close to our common room?" Harry asked.

"Hufflepuff was an avid cook." Tonks answered. "The house elves follow many of her recipes to this day."

"House elves?" Harry asked.

They stepped in the painting to find a sea of pale faces, with large ears and bulbous eyes. They were the size of children, and most were wearing what appeared to be pillow cases.

"Could we get something for breakfast please?" Tonks asked.

A chorus of voices declared her as simultaneously wise and generous, kind and noble, while another few house elves pushed Harry and Tonks to a nearby table, which Harry realized looked exactly like the ones in the Great Hall.

Before they could get another word in edge wise, the table was full of eggs and bacon, sausage, pancakes, biscuits and gravy. It was enough to make Harry's mouth water, and the two students ate quietly, thanking the elves politely after they ate.

Tonks gently pulled Harry out of the kitchens as they apologised and claimed business. They stepped out of the kitchens and Tonks pulled the portrait door shut.

She turned to face him and laughed at the expression on his face. "They are usually a little calmer than that, but most House Elves feel the same admiration that the witches and wizards did towards you when You-Know-Who was defeated. They haven't forgotten yet, unlike most people."

 _Line Break_

The loneliness of that morning never really disappeared, but Tonks helped keep it in the back of his mind as she spent time with him, showing him castle secrets and introducing him to students in older years. Before Harry knew it, it was Christmas.

He spent the morning with Tonks, opening various presents and chatting amicably with her. He recieved presents from his friends, and his relatives had sent him gifts as well.

Susan and Hannah seemed to have collaborated on the gift, both pitching in to give him a large variety of candy and sweets, while Hermione gave him a charm bracelet, and he just knew that she had gotten the same for Hannah and Susan. His had a few small charms. One was a Book, which he assumed represented Hermione. A badger which, while the three of them were Hufflepuff, he figured meant Hannah. A dog, which he hedged as being Susan, was another charm.

Harry figured Susan was a hard person to pin down for a symbol.

Finally, he grinned at the last charm. It represented him, according to Hermione. It was a lion.

Hermione was ever the analytical type, so she most likely calculated each of the charms based on traits for a while.

She thought little of herself, but she could never doubt her own intellect, so a Book to symbolise her love of learning and constant drive for education.

Hannah was loyal and hard working, but didn't like attention and kept to herself in a crowd. She got a badger to symbolise that, as well as the fact that she may be fierce in defense if pushed.

Susan was difficult, yes, but a dog was loyal and friendly, eager to protect its' friends and family and unafraid of a fight. It was vicious when cornered, but also loved fun.

And Harry? He was fierce. Brutal, if necessary. He was undoubtedly the reason his friends were together, and they listened to him for counsel. He was protective beyond belief, and he watched over his friends exactly as a Lion over its' pride. He was also confident, and acted as if he owned the room when he entered.

Maybe he was overthinking it, but the charms made sense to him, and he smiled as he slid the bracelet over his wrist.

From Tonks, she gave him a book on jinxes and hexes, as well as a bottle of butterbeer.

Hagrid, the groundskeeper, gave him a picture album with photos of his parents, with an invitation to have tea with him. Harry smiled and told himself he would go.

Finally, he got an unmarked gift, with no signature.

He opened the box to find a note that simply said it was from someone returning something that his father had lent them. He put the note aside and pulled the box open to unveil a cloak with a silvery color.

Harry picked up the cloak, to find it soft and warm. It seemed paper thin, but Harry felt assured that it would be warm if he wished. He examined it for a second before gasping. Draped over his arm as it was, he could see nothing below the cloth except the couch.

"Wow, an invisibility cloak?" Tonks asked. "Those are rare, and expensive. Especially since the charms always wear out after a few years."

Harry turned to look at her. "The note says that this was my dad's." he said.

Tonks stared for a minute. "Well, there's just a few answers to that. Either whoever returned it to you was redoing the charms, and your dad prepaid or it was a friend of his, or you've got a mythical cloak that legends suggest mean you can't die."

Harry blanched. "Let's go with the first one, so I don't start to feel worried." he said.

Tonks nodded. "I can drink to that." she said with a grin, waving a bottle of Harry's wine at him.

Harry rolled his eyes and thanked her for her own gifts, and she echoed the sentiment in return.

Harry folded up the cloak, and frowned when it easily squashed down into a miniscule piece of fabric that could easily fit in any pocket.

"A little too convenient." he sighed, before putting it out of his mind.

 _Line Break_

The day came that Harry longed for, the end of Christmas break. His friends were on the express, and were headed back to Hogwarts as he waited for them impatiently.

Finally, watching as he was from the clock tower, he saw the locomotive pull in at Hogsmeade, and distant figures piling out of the train.

He smiled beautifully and watched the distant movement for a while, before composing himself and heading down to his common room.

It was a small wait, some twenty minutes, compared to the weeks without them. Still, Harry struggled to keep his composure, even as students trickled in through the entrance.

Finally he saw them. Hannah and Susan. Hermione too, seemingly determined to visit with him and them instead of going to her tower.

Harry couldn't contain himself, and he leapt up, catching all three of them in a hug.

"I missed you." he admitted, surprising himself with his honesty.

They were quiet, and he let them go after another moment, only to find two teary witches, and one with a fond smile.

"Idiot." Susan said, her smile sweet. "As if we didn't miss you too."

And all was right again.


	6. chapter 6

After Christmas, Harry realized that he had underestimated the change in his life. Hermione, Susan, and Hannah were fixtures that he could not, would not remove.

They walked in the Halls to a mutual class, Herbology, chatting amicably. As they headed towards the front doors, the blond boy from the train, Draco Malfoy, stopped them.

He had been a nuisance for a while, but Harry, being a Hufflepuff, didn't see him much, as classes with Slytherin's were mostly Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

"So, Scarhead. Hanging with a mudblood, a girl scared of her own shadow, and a tamed bitch?" Draco crowed triumphantly.

Harry felt his temper fray, and he smoothly pushed Draco up to a wall. The blond tried to swallow, but Harry's forearm in his neck made the action painful.

"I wouldn't mess with my friends, were I you." Harry whispered. "After all, a school has plenty of accidents."

Draco's eyes were fearful, and they held an understanding. Harry revealed another side of himself that day, and Draco could see it clearly now. Hufflepuff's were seen as weak, and insignificant, but Draco now wondered how loyal you had to be to overwhelm your other traits? How hard working you were that ambition was overcome?

Because Harry was cunning indeed, as he smoothly lied to Draco's godfather, speaking of helping a fellow student with dropped books, and with a sidelong glance that made him agree.

Harry Potter was cunning. He lied easily to get out of trouble. Harry Potter was brave, telling those lies to a Professor's face. Harry Potter was sly, and chivalrous, and possibly ambitious too.

Harry Potter was a Hufflepuff, and those traits only came to play once Draco Malfoy had dared to insult his friends.

It was a mistake Draco swore not to repeat.

"At least he isn't in Gryffindor. Or Ravenclaw." Draco muttered. Without classes together, he could pretend he wasn't what he was.

Intimidated by Harry Potter.

 _Line Break_

It didn't take long. While few had tried before, rumors erupted around the school and soon, everyone knew not to mess with friends of Harry Potter. Beyond the fact that his friends were three highly capable witches, who were quite high ranking in their year, they were also diligently protected by the Wizarding celebrity.

It wasn't that Harry only had those three as friends. He had started to get along better with his dormmates, and he had good relationships with other students, like Neville Longbottom, or Blaise Zabini. It was just that him and his three frienda were inseperable.

They were rarely seen without the others nearby, and the whole castle wasn't sure if Hermione Granger actually returned to the Gryffindor tower anymore, or stayed in the badger den at night as well. No one dared to ask either.

Harry told them of his life, and his grapevines. Hannah and Susan admired his work, though Hermione was a little scandalised by the thought of him making and drinking wine, until Hannah told her about the effects of muggle alcohol on wizards.

Hermione still seemed reluctant, but didn't speak out about his lifestyle either.

Hannah informed them that she was shy mostly because her family, the Abbots, were insular, and she had barely met anyone besides Susan until she came to Hogwarts. She told Harry quietly that she was glad he had befriended them, as she never would have tried to know him on her own.

Susan told them how she and her Aunt, Amelia Bones, were the last of the family. Her aunt was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and was a busy woman. Her parents and extended family except for her Aunt had died in the last war, and Susan spent most of her time with Hannah or Neville, her Aunt having been working too much to raise her constantly.

Hermione simply said that she had grown up as an outcast, both because of her intelligence, and because of her unexplained accidental magic. Her parents were supportive, and well off, but they both worked a lot as dentists, and Hermione didn't see them too often.

In a way, they all had been a little isolated, and they clinged to each other in a way that felt comfortable, and happy.

Harry put it into words they all agreed with.

"You guys are mine. You are each others. I am yours. We are together."

Harry flushed brightly whenever they brought it up. He had mumbled those words as he was half asleep in the common room, and they had been trying to get him to go to bed.

Even so, he couldn't argue that he didn't feel that way.

Hannah, Susan, and Hermione agreed.


	7. chapter 7

Harry sighed and slumped into his usual spot on the couch.

"Exams are over, finally." he said dramatically.

"Don't act as if you had any trouble." Susan chided him. "Except Potions, I bet you scored great on everything."

Hannah chimed in, an unusual occurence, but more common in times like this, when she was tired. "Don't you start either!" she said with a glare at Hermione. "You had everything memorised for a month."

Hermione flushed. She had been about to worry aloud about her grades.

"I'm worried about my grapevines." Harry mused. "My Aunt diesn't have much of a green thumb."

"Magical wine." a voice whisoered breathlessly in his ear.

"Stop that Tonks." he growled with a smile.

The metamorphmagus popped up from behind the couch. Her smile was mischevious.

"I'm not going to try to make magical wine." he reiterated.

Hermione sighed, as did many of the 'Puffs that regularly hung out in the common room. It was an argument that everyone had heard almost daily since Christmas. It was to the point that even some of the Professors and other houses knew.

Tonks grinned at him, and he knew that he shouldn't have ever told her about his hobby. By next year, everyone in Britain would be aware. She was the worst form of advertising, the unwanted kind.

Susan interrupted them with a practiced ease.

"So Harry, what are your plans for summer?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Tend my grapevines. Spend some time with my family." he said nonchalantly.

"That sounds nice." Hannah said gently. She bit her lip uncertainly.

Susan came to her aid. "Hannah wanted to let you know that you could visit her if you like. I feel the same way." Susan said.

Harry blinked in surprise. "You want me... to visit?" he asked.

Susan nodded, as well as Hannah.

"I'd offer the same, but my parents are taking me on vacation outside of the country." Hermione explained. "We do it every year."

"I don't know what to say." he said. "I'd love to visit."

They beamed at him, and he smiled in return.

He kept smiling and enjoying his time with his friends as classes wound down, and the semester came to an end. It seemed as if no time had passed, but he found himself packed up and headed to the Hogwarts Express, and was soon being taken home.

It was as he was sitting with his friends in the train car that he finally pinpointed his feelings.

His friends meant more to him than his relatives did.

It was a sobering thought.


	8. chapter 8

"Come on, boy." Vernon said gruffly. Harry noticed the man was a bit leaner, as if he had been eating less.

"Is everything alright, Uncle?" he asked.

The man grunted. It was an average response, but Harry found himself less able to read it than he remembered.

It was a nearly silent drive home to Privet Drive, and Harry thought about his first year at Hogwarts.

It had been... wonderful, he decided.

A small smile was all that told his thoughts to the world, and before long Harry was home.

"Welcome back." his Aunt said primly.

Harry almost gasped. The woman looked almost the same as ever, but her hair was carefully managed, and her expression was clear.

"Aunt Petunia? Is something wrong?" he asked.

As far as he was aware, the woman had been intoxicated for most of his life, and he had almost never seen her without her nursong a drink.

"Of course not, dear." Petunia replied with a small smile. "I just can't believe I've been drinking so much all these years."

Harry couldn't either, but the change was more of a surpriae than the actual behavior. She had never even mentioned sobering before, and now she looked as if she had been for months.

Harry shook his head to throw off his confusion as he dragged his trunk upstairs, depositing it in his room.

It was from his bedroom window that he caught sight of the backyard.

Brown, flaky leaves on thin, cracked vines. The lattices and soil were black with dead grapevines and ivy. It hurt Harry to his soul. This wasn't the work of his Aunt being bad at taking care of plants, nor deliberate sabotage.

It was ignorance. This was the garden of a woman who completely ignored the watering and trimming and pruning and harvesting of her plants.

He ruahed downstairs and outside, missing the expression on his Aunt's face. If he had seen it, he would have known that she had known exactly what happened, and didn't try to fix it.

As it was, he dropped to his knees in the backyard, carefully digging through the dry dirt and gently pulling aside the dead plant in a desperate search for something.

No matter how hard he looked, he found only two living parts of the vines. Harry carefully cut them out, knowing that the only chance for him to save the plants at all was to take the cuttings and grow again.

He put them in a small pot, with a bit of lattice for them to grow on, and set them aside to the corner of the backyard.

He didn't speak to his Aunt as he went up to his room and cleaned up, nor did he come down for dinner.

It felt like a betrayal. The vines were the one thing that brought him and his Aunt together, and she left them alone the second he left.

 _Line Break_

The weeks that followed were the strangest of Harry's life, as his home seemed strange. His Aunt hardly touched her alcohol, preferring instead to clean and arrange the house to look normal, while Vernon and Dudley were eating less.

That's not to say there wasn't food, just that every meal was no longer a three course banquet. His Aunt cooked, and Vernon seemed to work less overtime.

It almost felt normal, compared to other people in the neighborhood, and that was the issue.

The Dursley's had never been normal, and Harry wasn't an exception.

This change unsettled Harry, even as his family started to relax back into the habits he was used to from them.

"How can they change so much?" he asked himself.

His answer would yet come, but not for some time.

 _Line Break_

The death of his grapevines and the change in his family unsettled him, so even after his Aunt seemed to return to alcohol, his Uncle to food and work, and his cousin to sweets and games, Harry didn't react.

Before long, everything was back to the way it had been, and Harry was more confused and frustrated than before.

He sent for the Knight Bus, and disappeared to the Wizarding world with but a note to his Aunt.

Not even hours later, Harry was inside the home of Amelia Bones, and his friend, her niece, Susan Bones.

"Hiya Susan." he called cheerfully.

"Hiya Harry." she returned with a grin.

Amelia Bones glared at her niece.

"Why aren't you home?" she asked Harry.

Harry shrugged. "Crazy stuff. Susan says she sent me some letters, but I haven't seen any. My Aunt was acting strangely. Also, I was a bit bored." he answered with a smile.

Amelia sighed in annoyance, and Harry saw Susan's grin grow.

"Fine. Don't make a mess." Amelia relented.

Susan caught her eye, and Amelia rolled hers. "That means _yes_. He can stay."


End file.
